The Royal Oak

The village location is perfect, and service in the pub was generally good, with a friendly team of young people. The delightful young Texan woman was especially pleasant and friendly, though the girl serving breakfast on Saturday morning seemed a bit po-faced. We were back from the wedding reception around 10:40pm on Saturday, but the pub had already closed, so we could only get a drink outside. That felt very early for a Saturday, especially as we’d been inside until after 11pm on Friday. We stayed two nights in a feature signature room at The Royal Oak for a nearby wedding. We’d loved the little cottages when we stayed here twice about 20 years ago, but the accommodation could use an update now. Our room was quite small, though it had some nice features, and we think the shower room had been recently updated. The curtains, poles and tracks are tired, and the curtains don’t block the summer light well. The mattress is saggy, and the TV and kettle need updating too. Friends who booked too late to get a room found a beautiful Air BnB in the village. Their modern accommodation made us envious. With that competition nearby, we think the pub needs to raise its game.

The pub is lovely, the location is great, and the rooms are very nice, but the stay was a mixed bag. The main course was tasty, though the burger my friend had wasn’t great, and dessert didn’t impress us. We waited over an hour between the starter and main. Our overnight stay was pleasant, but I hadn’t been told breakfast only starts at 8:00 am, which isn’t ideal midweek. At 8:10 nobody was there, not even getting breakfast ready, and I didn’t get any until after 8:30. It wouldn’t be hard to put out something cold, like cereal or yoghourts, earlier if needed.

We really enjoyed our one-night stay: lovely room, excellent food, great service and a very nice atmosphere. I’d recommend it. I do have an issue with the service charge, though. I’m fine with the 10% charge on food menus, but I accidentally put drinks I bought at the bar on the room bill. I only noticed at home that the charge had been added to those drinks and even bags of crisps. That seems pretty outrageous to me. It’s easy to avoid by paying for bar items as you go instead of charging them to the room.

The fire was on and the pub had such a lovely, homely feel when I visited with family. We settled at a table with drinks and ordered dinner. Alice served us brilliantly, was happy to help, and nothing seemed like too much trouble. We had a great evening and will certainly be back. Five stars for The Royal Oak and five for Alice. 🙂